How Much Confinement for an Article 89 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?

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Based on 38 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Sentences Had No Confinement

In 13 of the 38 disrespect convictions (34%), the sentence included no confinement. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, the share without confinement was 18%.

When the sentence included confinement, the term was usually short. The median among the 25 confinement sentences was 5 months, and a quarter were 6 months or longer. Under 6 months: 17 convictions (45%). Between 6 months and 1 year: 7 convictions (18%). Over 1 year: 1 conviction (3%), compared with 25% across the service. No conviction carried 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common

Of 36 convicted enlisted members, 9 received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. Across the service, 62% of convicted enlisted members received one. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal.

The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers. Neither was dismissed (0). A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Of the 38 cases, 33 were special courts-martial and 5 were general courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 13%, lower than the 41% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement. Only 1 conviction here carried more than 1 year of confinement.

Disrespect Usually Came With Other Charges

Article 89 was the only charge in 6 of the 38 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged with it in 11 cases, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 10, Article 128 (assault) in 9, Article 86 (AWOL) in 8, and Article 112a (drug) in 7.

Several of those other charges are also offenses against military authority. Each sentence covers every finding in its case, so the other charges are part of every sentence figure in this post.

More Cases Were Contested

Only 19 of the 38 records list a plea. Of those, 12 accused pleaded guilty and 7 entered not-guilty or mixed pleas. A not-guilty or mixed plea makes a case contested. The contested share was 37%, higher than the 24% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. With only 19 recorded pleas, that figure rests on few cases.

More NCOs Than in the Service Overall

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 58% of the accused, NCOs were 37%, and officers were 5%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, junior enlisted members were 65%. The accused in these cases were somewhat more senior than the service overall.

Most Cases Were Tried at Marine Corps Bases

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 14 of the 38 cases. Camp Pendleton, California tried 6, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay 4, Norfolk, Virginia 3, and San Diego, California 2. These 5 locations account for 76% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts say little about any single base.

The cases run from March 2017 to December 2025. There were 7, 7, and 6 cases in 2017 through 2019. From 2020 through 2024 there were between 1 and 4 cases a year. In 2025 there were 8. The records cannot show why the counts changed.

Rule Changes During These Years

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, added judge-alone special courts-martial limited to 6 months of confinement with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Judges now set sentences under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records lack offense dates, so the most recent trials mix old and new rules.

What the Data Cannot Answer

Trial records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show what was said or done, the evidence, or the plea terms. Disrespect handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not in these records. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and plea counts here use only the records that list it.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.